Joanne Adamson, North Tyneside

I was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in March 2026 at the age of 43.

I've always been a very active and on-the-go person. I love being outdoors and my hobbies include running, hiking, climbing and yoga. I also enjoy cooking and eating well, independent cinema and socialising with my friends. I work for NHS as an occupational therapist in community stroke rehabilitation.

Unanswered questions

As a menstruating active female who eats a mostly plant-based diet, my iron and ferritin levels have always been on the low side. I stopped donating blood in 2024 due to my haemoglobin often being borderline.

In early 2025, I was feeling more fatigued than usual. I visited my GP and found out my ferritin levels were lower than expected. My doctor recommended some over-the-counter tablets. But the following October, my ferritin levels had dropped even further.

At that point, I wholeheartedly set about to improve them. I was taking shop-bought supplements and even introduced a weekly portion of meat into my diet alongside my usual iron-rich plant-based sources.

Further bloods in January 2026 showed a significant further reduction. I was starting to get concerned. I’d been taking drastic measures to improve and they weren’t working. My GP believed it still wasn’t anything to be overly concerned with but did recommend a FIT test.

A shock diagnosis

My FIT test came back positive, and my GP referred me for a colonoscopy. I knew bowel cancer was a possibility, but at no point did I think this would be a reality for me. I felt so fit and well. Given this, I postponed my colonoscopy by three weeks due to a prebooked holiday.

The colonoscopy was reorganised for March 2026, four days after me taking part in a challenging ultramarathon in the Peak District. I was riding a physical high – and this added to my shock when I was told by the consultant following the procedure that he had found a mass in my colon. He said he knew was cancerous, having seen many in the past, and that it was of a significant enough size that I would require surgery to remove it.

For an outsider looking in, I think it would have looked like I took in the news with little emotion. But my husband was very emotional following this conversation. As the news rippled out as we told family and friends, the level of support I received was amazing. I felt so loved and supported and feel so lucky to have had the level of support I did.

I think my lack of response was due to shock. I had no symptoms that I was aware of and felt so fit and well. I couldn’t believe I had a cancerous tumour inside my body. Whilst initially I went into a state of shock, telling people around me and talking about it really helped me accept the news.

A successful surgery

The following week was neverending whilst I waited for my CT scan to determine the extent of disease, staging and plan. Everyone rallied around to keep me occupied.

Following a CT scan and a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) discussion the news was good. No spread of disease, stage 2, and surgery was possible. My operation was scheduled for two weeks later in April 2026.

As I felt so well, I was able to enjoy my usual activities and focused on my holistic wellbeing over this period. I was lucky to have my sister who had travelled over from France following my diagnosis, and we spent a lovely week together before my surgery with lots of time in nature, yoga and other wellbeing activities.

I was terrified leading up surgery but everyone supported me in trying to keep occupied and in the moment. I knew it was the best option, and I was lucky to be in the position that surgery was possible. Walking into the theatre room was terrifying, but the medical team were amazing and so reassuring throughout. I knew I was in the best hands.

Recovering from surgery took time. I was home after two days, but that was just the start of things! I have a newfound understanding of the fatigue my stroke patients experience. Everything was so tiring and painful – even laughing or coughing.

But slowly I moved forward. And further positive news came two weeks later: the tissues that had been removed during my surgery had been analysed and there was no spread into my lymph or vascular networks.

At a subsequent consultant review he confirmed I'm now classed as cancer free. I'll remain under surveillance for the next five years, with regular bloods and routine CT scans and colonoscopies which is reassuring.

Getting back to what I love

It took me a while to recover from my surgery, but nearly six months on, I’m back doing all the activities I love to do. I also started a phased return to work at the start of June. I’m feeling fitter than ever, having made some further positive changes to my lifestyle off the back of cancer. I’m hoping to get back to some ultramarathons in 2027!

I’m also using my running to raise awareness of bowel cancer – especially in those who consider themselves otherwise fit and healthy. I attend running events, such as my weekly Parkrun, wearing my Bowel Cancer UK running vest, with some extra text added to showcase the symptoms to be aware of.

I’ve also organised a successful cake sale at work to raise awareness and funds for Bowel Cancer UK – which was a great success and was able to target some of the community teams working in and across Newcastle.

I’m keen to increase awareness of bowel cancer in younger people. This is a disease that can affect anyone. I've been shocked at the number of younger bowel cancer patients I've encountered, often diagnosed at later stages due to lack of awareness or symptoms being overlooked.

I was fit and well at the time of diagnosis and had never considered bowel cancer as a possibility for me.

As time goes on, I feel more confident about the future and panic less when I notice an internal sensation or slight change in my bowels. I'm hyperaware of any subtle changes – but I think this is normal at this stage. I’ve contacted the wonderful colorectal nurses a few times over the last few months with various queries, with which they have always been very understanding and reassuring.

This whole journey has really highlighted and enforced the importance of living in the moment and not putting anything off, which has changed my mind set and lifestyle.